


Meet me under the Cherry Tree

by TsukinoYue



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Crossdressing, F/M, Gay Sex, Homophobia, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-14
Updated: 2014-12-14
Packaged: 2018-03-01 12:02:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2772311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TsukinoYue/pseuds/TsukinoYue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sasuke finds Naruto dressed as a girl in a park and for a reason, can't take the boy (or girl?) off his mind.Bit by Bit, these two boys learn about each other, their fears, dreams and secrets. A story about accepting who you are without fear, about facing our own prejudices. A story about finding love at its purest form.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A boy and a... girl?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters. © Masashi Kishimoto  
The story is based on the manga Udagawachou de Mattete yo by Hideyoshico © (aka author of the most amazing yaoi manga - if you don't know sensei’s works, I highly recommend)**

**Chapter 1 – A boy and a... girl?**

Sasuke’s point of view  
It’s by pure convenience I am in the other side of the town, where I wasn’t supposed to know anyone except for my brother, Itachi, whom I have just visit in his new apartment. But here I am, in a small park, looking at one of my classmates, Naruto Uzumaki.  
If I were in any other circumstance, I wouldn’t have spared him a glance, but due to few details, I can’t take my eyes off him. It’s not every day you see one of your classmates dressed as a girl on the other side of town. But it’s definitely him.   
No matter how much the make-up makes him look delicate and even disguises the three scars like whiskers on each cheek he has, I can still see the fade lines on them. No matter how much the clothes make him look slender and thinner, I can see clearly his slightly broad shoulders, the flat chest and the bony hips. It only makes me wonder if I’m the only one to notice he’s actually a boy.  
He’s alone, waiting, but I’ve been here for thirty minutes and no one has come to greet him, no, he only stares around, sometimes he looks nervous and sometimes he spaces out. I can only wonder why he is using a long blonde wig, tied in two ponytails. Maybe it was a punishment game; probably from one of the pranks he usually plays. Yes, that’s it, the only plausible reason for Naruto to be dressed as a girl is a punishment of some sort. The only problem is that I don’t see any other classmate who could have done it to him.   
He stands up from the bench and leaves, with my eyes following his every move, the swing of his hips, the rise of the skirt he’s wearing, and I can almost hear the clack of the heels on his a little too big feet. I stay still, watching him leave the place without anyone notice his swapped gender. On the contrary, men would look at ‘her’ with lust, desire or simply admiration. No one noticed that the blonde ‘shy’ girl was actually a hyperactive boy. No one but me.  
My feet drag me back home but my mind is still wrapped on Naruto. I can’t shake the feeling it wasn’t just a game for him, a punishment or whatever the rational part of my brain can provide as a plausible explanation. To tell the truth, I am curious to know more. Will he be there tomorrow? Maybe on the next week? My mind wanders through the infinity possibilities making me lose focus on what I should be doing.  
“Sasuke, are you fine?” my mother asks with a concerned face due to the fact I was staring at my plate of food for what felt like twenty minutes.  
“I’m fine, mother,” I take a bite, observing the food is still heated, so it hadn’t been twenty minutes, probably five.  
“Did you and your brother have a fight?” she asks me based on my behavior. It’s true that when we fight I act the same, but I’m not feeling the same. If I had argued with Itachi, I would be mad. I’m not mad, I’m intrigued.  
“No, we didn’t.”  
She smiles in relief. “Good, I got worried when you didn’t come home the time you told me.” My face feels heated but I suppose it’s due to the food. “Oh my, Itachi should be so busy now that he moved out, you didn’t bother him too much, did you? I still think it would be better for you to visit him on the weekend.”  
I roll my eyes at my mother’s worries. “No, mother I didn’t bother him and as I told you before I can’t go on the weekend because I have to study for a test on Monday.”  
My mother sighs softly “You told me,” then she frowns lightly, “but you still could have waited to see your brother. It would make you both good, Itachi needs time to arrange his new apartment and you need time to study, little man.”  
Before I can defend myself, my father decides to do it in my place. “Let them be, Mikoto. It’s good for brothers to have their own time together. And Sasuke is doing well at school.”  
I feel a prideful sensation in my chest – aka my ego growing – to the rare compliment from my father and even my mother’s expression softens to a gentle smile. “That’s true, we’re proud of you, dear.”  
I smile back, “Hn.”   
The rest of the day is very normal. My mother complains that I should clean my bedroom; my father says I should obey her when she tells him to interfere, and I ignore both of them in order to listen to music peacefully and do my homework.   
At night, I lie in my bed, thoughts of my day swirling in my last moments of consciousness.  
‘I should have talked to Naruto in the park.’  
…  
I sit down at my chair in the back of the classroom as usual. Like every day, I ignore people around me with the only goal to pay attention at class.  
People annoy me to no end, which is one of the reasons I have few friends and none in this class; the other reasons consist in my lack of ability of talking to people and my lack of interest in doing so.   
I do not intend to make friends at school; my focus is entirely on my studies. I don’t hate studying and I want to make my parents and my brother proud of me. I want them to compliment me and say I’m a good son and brother.  
Nothing is more important to me than my family. I want to make them happy and proud, so my main goal is being the best I can, no matter what the others say. Call me an asshole, a dork, a jerk, or whatever they want to, they are not important.  
Opposite to my words, my eyes keep going to the blond boy two seats in my right diagonal, Naruto. He’s late as usual, but the teachers don’t even bother with him anymore, letting him enter the class and not saying anything to change his behavior. I wonder if he doesn’t feel ashamed of himself, being late, being the dead-last of the classroom. I know I couldn’t stand it, but he doesn’t seem to care.  
Lunch time comes and I find myself still observing the carefree idiot, talking happily with his friends. I had never really paid attention to him, but after yesterday, I can’t help it. I’m curious, and I want to know more, I need to know more.  
I listen to their conversation in hope to hear them talking about yesterday, about being a prank, whatever, but nothing. No one says anything about it and I have the feeling they don’t have any idea.  
I watch when he smiles at the pink haired girl besides him. They hold hands and kiss each other in the cheek, so I suppose she’s his girlfriend. I wonder if she knows about him dressing as a girl. He’s definitely prettier than her but that’s not the point. I wonder if it was her clothes, but why would she want her boyfriend to dress as a girl? And why wouldn’t she be near him then?   
I want to know and I will find out.  
With these thoughts, I keep staring and analyzing his conduct for the rest of the week, trying to decipher him. He seems normal to me, I mean, he’s indeed an idiot always joking and playing pranks on his friends, being loud, pouting like a five year old child when someone says or does something he doesn’t like, but still normal.   
He’s the catcher of the school’s baseball team and I suppose he’s good, but he sucks at pitching. Since he wears girl’s clothes, even if he does have a girlfriend, I can only conclude he’s gay, but that’s as far as I can go as an outsider and I know that I’ll have to go back to that park in the first opportunity I have to find out more.  
Apparently, I fail at being discreet on my observations as he approaches me in my chair, “Uchiha!” The blonde yells, what annoys me, so I only arch an eyebrow. “What’s your problem?” he demands in my face.  
“None I’m aware.” You’re the one cross-dressing for God knows why.  
“Oh really?!” he crosses his arms over his chest with an annoyed expression to which I can only blink in confusion. “Sasuke, are you a faggot?”  
I almost choke on air to the question. WHAT?! You wear make-up, a skirt and a wig and I am gay? My frown deepens. “No!”  
“Then stop it! Everyone is talking about you ogling me, man! It’s freaking me out. You can’t do that to…” He waves his hands around like a crazy man, and I can’t help but compare it to the shyness she showed in the park. Was it possible for someone to act so differently?  
I shrug off if only for him to stop screaming at my face about my creepy behavior. Is he serious? Because yes, he looks very serious about it. Maybe, and only maybe, I was mistaken. No, definitely not. Or maybe he has a sister who looks like him. Yes, that’s a possibility I hadn’t thought of, yet.   
“Naruto,” I interrupt his babbling seriously, “do you have a sister?”  
He first blinks in confusion to my question, and by mysterious universal forces, his voice is civilized when he answers me suspicious. “Huh? No, I’m an only son, why?”  
“Hm. I see.”   
Then it was really him. I should probably just ask him, but how can you ask a guy if he was dressed as a girl in the other day? I’m positive he would deny it, with reason or not. Besides, it’s not even my business.  
“Bastard, are you listening? I asked why!” Again with that loud voice that gives me a headache.  
I sigh, closing my eyes for a moment. “No reason, just curious, moron.”  
He glares at me before he turns around. “Whatever. Just stop staring at me all the time, weirdo,” and leaves.


	2. I know your little secret

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters. © Masashi Kishimoto  
The story is based on the manga Udagawachou de Mattete yo by Hideyoshico © **

**Chapter 2 – I know your little secret.**

Sasuke’s point of view

It’s been two weeks since the last time I came to the park, but only now I could come back here to see ‘her’ again. With the pretext of helping Itachi fix his car, I came to the same park on the other side of town just to see her again. After two weeks observing Naruto, I can’t be mistaken, if it’s really him I’ll know and I’ll talk to him this time.   
I wait for a whole hour and nothing.  
This bothers me extremely, so I conclude that it was really a one-time thing, and that I’ll never see her again. A small hope tells me I just wasn’t lucky today and that maybe she will come tomorrow or the day after, but I don’t fool myself with these silly thoughts. Today is Naruto’s free day, so if there’s one day for him to come here, it’s today.  
A sigh escapes my lips. It was already foolish of me to come here in the first place; I really have no reason to be here.   
So what if she caught my attention? What if I find her the prettiest and cutest girl I have ever seen? What if sometimes I dream of her? And... what if she is really Naruto? I hate him.   
I definitely, conclusively, entirely hate him.  
I hate how he’s loud, how he’s dumb, how he messes with everyone and no one does a thing about it. I hate it when he flashes that stupid exaggerated grin at his friends when he wants to change the subject, or pretend he didn’t understand. I hate him for denying his homosexuality, it’s so obvious. I hate him for having a girlfriend. I hate him for being the only girl I could ever have feelings for. I hate him for simply taking her away from me. I hate him.  
In my last glance at the park, when I’m leaving, I see her.  
My heart beats faster and I can’t believe how pretty she really is, prettier than I remembered.  
This time her hair is down, only with a pin on the side, she’s wearing a skirt with long white socks and boots, along with a long sleeved orange shirt. My mouth is open and my eyes can only follow her. So pretty, so delicate, so different from the idiot.  
I want to talk to her.   
But I can’t move. I can only watch her from afar like I’m used to do with him.   
I’m nervous, butterflies are moving in my stomach, my hands are sweating and my mouth is dry. God, I’m feeling so pathetic, like a middle school girl with her first crush. Wait, crush? I can’t have a crush on Naruto, no matter how pretty she is. I know she’s still a guy, a moron, a… who are those people talking to her?  
My eyes narrow when three older guys, that I never saw before, approaches her. I soon shake the feeling she knows them when she fidgets with her sleeves, looking uncomfortable. I want to know what they are telling her but I’m too far. The solution is to get near them without anyone to notice me, what’s pretty easy considering they’re near a lot of trees.  
As I approach them, I listen to the conversation attentively.  
“I see you still refuse to talk to us, cutie.” Says the first guy in blue t-shirt.  
Naruto only shakes his head and blushes a little, probably fearing being found out.  
“Oh come on, pretty, we just want to know your name.” says the second guy in yellow, who attempts to touch her face but is soon slapped away. It serves him right.  
She looks desperate and I don’t think I can take any longer of only watching it.  
“Well, if you want to be like that, we’ll only have to force you, huh. Can’t let such a cute girl go wasted.” Says the third guys in black, slowly leaning forward.  
Naruto gasps in shock and I panic, unsure of what to do, but not thinking about it.  
Yes, I’m not thinking when I walk closer to them just before any of them can touch her. “Hey babe, sorry I’m late.” I say out loud, hugging her and whispering on her ear. “Just play along.”   
I turn around facing the other three guys with an annoyed expression. “Is there a problem here?”   
They look at each other and the guy in black tee narrows his eyes at me. “Who are you?” he demands.  
“That’s not your business.” I spit back, hugging her closer to me. Even with the heels on her boots, she’s shorter than me and, God, she feels so fragile in my arms.  
“Bastard, of course it’s my damn business. We were talking to the girl, so who the hell are you?” the guy glares at me but I glare back, harder. If he thinks he can win against me in a glare contest, he’s wrong.  
“Isn’t it obvious, idiot? I’m her boyfriend!” I have no idea why I say this, but it’s too late now and it sounded really good in my mind. Not counting it makes me look cool saving the girl from the bad guys. God I need to stop watching soap opera with my mother.  
“That’s bullshit! You only want her to yourself but we saw her first, scum.” The other two guys nod as their, I’ll assume, leader tries to reach for Naruto.  
I hug her even closer, keeping her out of his reach, protecting her. She hugs me back burying her face in my chest so I can’t see it.   
“Fuck off!” I frown and try to act if I were in a real situation, and not lying as I was being accused of, what is hard because I have no idea how a boyfriend should act in real life. I opt to follow the soap opera’s role.   
I roll my eyes exaggeratedly when they don’t move. “That’s stupid. Say babe, say to these morons you are my girlfriend so we can leave.”  
I can’t see her face but I feel her nodding her head. It makes me feel warm inside and I almost smile, almost.  
Still, when the two other guys are already backing away, the ‘leader’ grits his teeth. “I don’t believe it!” he laughs manically and I can only think this guy is totally out of it. “I. Don’t. Believe. It!”  
An idea crosses my mind and I smirk. “So you want more proof?” and before he can answer, I pull the blonde’s head up by her chin. “Then I’ll give you proof.” Before Naruto can react I seal my lips to hers.  
Oh my God, she feels so good.   
I watch through half lidded eyes her shocked blue ones until they give in and close. Her lips are soft and tastes like strawberry, probably from her lipstick. I don’t mind it. It’s good, so good I can’t stop. Far in my mind, I can hear the guy grunt and cuss, leaving with heavy angry footsteps, but he doesn’t matter anymore. I can’t stop the kiss. I can’t stop, but I don’t know what else to do because… it’s my first kiss… and it was with…  
We break apart, looking at each other in shock. I can’t believe I just… I just kissed her. My face feels heated. No, wrong, I just kissed him, Naruto, the moron I hate. I can’t, I…  
“Sorry.” I hear myself whispering.  
Naruto turns around, red until the ears, shakes his head frantically, and for the first time she actually talks to me. Differently from the moron of the school, she doesn’t speak loudly, just above a whisper; it was deeper than a girl’s voice should be, but softer than his own normal voice. “No, no… you don’t understand… you shouldn’t… you couldn’t… you don’t know who…”  
“Who you are?” I touch her shoulder, leaning forward to whisper in her right ear. “Or what you are?” I feel him freeze. “But what you don’t know…” I hesitantly wrap my arms around her waist. “…is that I do know who you are… Na-ru-to.”  
He trembles in my arms, quickly pushing himself off me. Those blue eyes look fearful, yet fiercely at me. “What do you want?” his voice is low, deep, dangerous and so fragile.  
“Why are you doing this?” I demand to know with a blank face.  
He blushes “I-I… it was… a da-dare!” he stutters.  
“Oh really? The other week too?” I arch an eyebrow.  
I see clearly as the blood leaves all his face, making him pale, sickly pale. He’s almost crying by now. “I… it’s not your business!” he tries to run, but I grab him by the arm.  
“Well, sorry to say it, but now that I know your little secret-”  
“Are you threatening me, bastard?” his eyes are watery and his voice is raspy.  
“Wait, no! I just…” I don’t know anymore.  
“You said you weren’t gay.” He whines.  
“I’m not!” Really, I am not. How could I be? And then. “You’re the one gay here, moron.”  
“What?!” he frowns. “I’m not gay!”  
My face shows the incredulity of his words.  
“Don’t look me that way, bastard. It’s true, I have a girlfriend.” He doesn’t scream, but he is also not whispering anymore. He’s not her anymore despite the looks.  
“Oh.” It’s all I can say, a weird ache in my chest. “But I…” I know I’m about to do something cruel, yet I… “And does she know about it?”   
He freezes again.   
“I see.” My voice is cruel, but I can’t help it. “I wonder how she would react if someone were to tell her.”  
“You wouldn’t…” he whispers.  
I force myself to smirk “Wouldn’t I?”  
“What would you gain from that, asshole?” his lips tremble. “I… I don’t have anything, I swear! I’m poor and dumb, a total failure, what would you want from me?” He cries quietly, or is it her?  
I feel horrible, a monster. I look down. “I just want to know you.” I say quietly, but he hears me.  
My gaze lifts the same time as his or hers, I’m confused. Our eyes meet. It doesn’t matter.  
Naruto shakes his head slowly, tears falling from his eyes. I reach a finger to wipe it out. “Please?”  
Again, he shakes his head, afraid. Slowly I watch him/her leave me and I can’t move. I look up the sky and see cherry blossoms falling around me.


	3. I can't do it any longer

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor its characters. © Masashi Kishimoto  
The story is based on the manga Udagawachou de Mattete yo by Hideyoshico ©**

**Chapter 3 – I can’t do it any longer.**

Naruto’s point of view

My vision is blurry, my mind is spinning and my ears are thumping. I run and run and run and run until I can’t hear the whispers or see the looks directed at me. I run away from the park, from him, why did he have to appear? Why did he have to be there? Why?  
I run to the station desperately, dismissing all the people asking me if I am fine. The train takes too long, too long. Finally, my station arrives and once more I feel a rush of adrenaline through my body and I run, the boots don’t bother me, I run as fast as I can until I reach my empty house. I stumble on the stairs to my bedroom, desperate to be there, where I’m safe.  
I slam the door with force, uncaringly. My mother is never at home, so it’s not like I’ll bother anyone. I toss my boots under my bed, run to the bathroom and stare at my reflection on the mirror. I can’t believe it’s really me.  
My face is flushed from the running, my eyes are red and the eye liner is blurred because of my tears. I’m sweating, my hair is disheveled, my clothes are crumpled, oh God, I’m such a mess. I toss the wig aside, along with my clothes and get in the shower, washing the make-up. I relax under the warm water, breathing deeply, but my mind goes back to earlier, to the park, to Sasuke, to myself, to what I’ve been doing…  
Tears mix with the water. I hate to cry. I hate to cry so much. I hate to be weak. I hate it!  
I can’t believe it’s happening again, please, not again. I told myself I would stop the last time, that it would be the last time. Why? Why do I keep doing it? Why can’t I stop wearing make-up, skirts and heels? Why can’t I stop going to the park almost two hours away from my house like that? Why?  
My father is right. I’m weak, a sissy, a monster. It’s my fault for him to leave us, my fault for being such a freak. I can’t…  
I gather the girly, frilly clothes I was wearing and put them in the washing machine. I have enough time to wash, dry and iron it before my mother arrives home. I should use the time to throw all my hidden boxes away. I should use the excuse of Sasuke finding out about it to stop it for good.  
Now that I’m calm, I can think straight, and I’m not afraid of him. He threatened me and I freaked out, but now that I really think about it, there’s nothing he can do against me, not without any proof. If he tells anyone, it’ll be the weird boy who’s always ogling me against my word. My friends won’t believe him; I’ll tell them he must be plotting something against me, and it will be enough. I can’t lose my friends. I can’t let anyone leave me because of it. Not again.  
The washing machine works while I make myself something to eat. Nothing that takes too long, I’m not very hungry anyway. I’m never very hungry when I eat alone. Ah, I remember when we were a happy family, before I ruined it all. I remember mom and dad making dinner and chatting, while I waited for the delicious food. I remember when dad used to take me out to play baseball. Even when he said being the catcher was boring, I had fun.   
Now I go to every game on my own. My father left us and my mother doesn’t have time because of the work. I can’t blame her. When dad left, mom had to stand strong for both of us. I can’t be selfish to ask her to stop. I already ruined her life for being like this.  
Thinking about it, I ruined my parents’ marriage since I was born.   
Once, I heard my father saying my mother should have aborted me. They fought. I should be around 8 back then, so I didn’t understand why my father suddenly hated me so much. When I was 9, they got a divorce. It was the last time I saw him.   
I can still hear his harsh words echoing in my head, saying it was my fault, saying I wasn’t his son, because his son wasn’t a failure like I was, like I am, a monster. My mother cried and held me for too long that night, saying it wasn’t my fault, that I was normal, but I knew better.  
You know when you are born a freak. You can try to hide it, but it’s still stronger than you. You learn young when you don’t like what the other kids like, what you were supposed to like. You know when you’re different, even when you don’t want to be, when you just want to be accepted.  
Now I can look at the past and see how different I was, how a monster I was and I still am. I can understand now why some kids wouldn’t play with me, why they would tell me their parents had prohibited them because I was different. I didn’t understand, and neither did they. After all, I shouldn’t be older than 6.  
But back in time a little further, I can remember a Christmas when I was three, the very first of my consciousness. I got mad when Santa brought me a ball, I cried saying it wasn’t what I had asked for Christmas. I cried and blamed my mother for telling Santa the wrong thing, because I didn’t want a ball, no, I had asked for a doll instead.   
On the next day, mom brought to my bedroom the doll I wanted, telling me she had gone to talk to Santa in person to get the right present. I was never happier in my life. I loved that doll with all my heart. Until New Year, my father had ‘convinced’ me to throw the doll away because the ball was cooler. I cried for the whole night regretting my decision.   
On the following years, I didn’t cry when Santa got me the wrong present, or when the right present ‘magically’ disappeared during the night. Dad played more with me when I chose the little cars and trains, he was happy and so was I to spend time with him.  
But it didn’t mean I stopped being different. I liked everything I shouldn’t, from dolls to ponies and fairies. Mom didn’t mind it, but dad hated it, saying only bad boys liked that. They argued over it, but it was nothing compared to what happened later.  
If I remember correctly, it was about that time my father started to distance himself from me, always grumpy, telling how wrong everything I liked was, how I shouldn’t be that way. My mother, being the kind person she is, permitted me to play with the “forbidden toys” when dad went to work, but that didn’t last long since he soon found out, throwing it all away despite my cries of protest and pained tears.  
They started to fight almost every day.   
One particular fight is stuck in my head for the rest of my life.   
I was eight, and on this specific day, my mother had gone to the market while I stayed at home with my father. Dad watched TV on the living room, leaving me upstairs to do as I pleased, he didn’t care.  
I remember that was the first time I did something like that, but I wanted to try.   
Silently, I went to my parents’ bedroom, opened my mother’s wardrobe, where I knew she left all her make-up, and took one of her prettiest dresses and heels. I loved how I felt higher on the heels, how I felt pretty on the dress and I loved all the colors I could use to paint my face.  
I carefully applied mother’s make-up on my small face, not the amount some girls of my class used to apply to go to school, looking like a clown, and then I opened mom’s music box. I couldn’t wear earrings, but I put all the other jewels, all the rings, all the collars and all bracelets. Everything was so big on me… but when I looked at the mirror of my parents’ bedroom, I gasped. I looked so pretty, my eyes took in the colors on my face and the shining of the jewels in awe. I was happy.  
It was when the lights went on and, through the mirror, I saw my dad on the door. He looked furious and I knew I had done something wrong, something very, very wrong.  
I froze in place when he walked to me, his eyes showed so much rage. He pulled me by the arm, ripping the jewels and the dress from my body. I screamed when some broke, what only increased my dad’s fury. He grabbed me by my shoulder with force, it hurt.  
“You. Will. Learn. To. Be. A. Man!” he screamed in my face and the next thing I knew was that my cheek was burning and tears were spilling from my eyes.  
My father had never slapped me before that.  
He told me things I can’t remember no matter how hard I try. I cried harder at each slap, pleading, but they didn’t stop. They only stopped when my mother arrived, worried, asking what was going on. The shock on her face only lasted a second before she started screaming at my father, demanding to know why he was hitting me.  
“Stay away from this, Kushina!” he said, pulling me to their bathroom with force.  
My mother followed us and watched as my father grabbed me by my hair and threw my face inside the sink. “Minato!” he opened the water on my face almost choking me. “MINATO STOP!” He didn’t. Instead, he used a small towel to harshly rub the make-up out of my skin. “MINATO, STOP IT NOW!”  
He did, for a moment, throwing me to the wall. “I SAID TO STAY AWAY, KUSHINA! YOU ALREADY RUINED OUR SON TOO MUCH!”  
I sobbed and breathed in as much air as I could. Before I could tell, I found myself pinned on the wall, my father’s hands on my neck. “I TRIED NOT TO INTERFERE! BUT THAT’S GOING TOO FAR!” he screamed at my face, furious. “YOU WILL LEARN TO BE A MAN, WANT IT OR NOT!”  
I don’t know what happened next, the next memory I have of that night is of my mother pushing me out of her room and locking the door. I stood in front of that door, unable to move, face, throat and eyes burning, listening to more screaming.  
“WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU THINKING?!” My mother pleaded desperate.  
“SHUT UP, KUSHINA! NARUTO WAS WRONG!”  
“What had he done, MY GOD?! YOU WERE HITTING HIM, MINATO! HITTING YOUR SON!”  
“HE’S NOT MY SON! YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN HIM, HE WENT TOO FAR! WEARING MAKE-UP AND A FUCKING DRESS!” Dad spat the words with disgust.  
“MY GOD MINATO, HE’S ONLY EIGHT FOR CHRIST’S SAKE!”  
They quieted down for a moment and I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but they were still arguing. Soon the screams came back, louder.  
“NO, I WON’T! I WON’T ACEEPT IT! HE IS NOT MY SON, KUSHINA!”  
“HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?! LOOK AT HIM, HOW CAN YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT, MINATO?!”  
“NO! NO! MY SON IS NOT… IS NOT… THAT.”  
“THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH NARUTO!”  
“EVERYTHING IS WRONG WITH THAT BOY! HE’S NOT MY SON, CAN’T BE! MY SON IS NOT A FAG!”  
I didn’t know what the word meant, but I knew it was something bad. When I learned about it, it was already too late. The rest of the fight is a blur to me, I remember my father took his car and didn’t come back home for two days, mother cried the whole time.  
After the divorce, my mother began to work. She spent less and less time with me and more and more time at the office. Sometimes she went in my bedroom at night, thinking I was sleeping, and told me how much she loved me, how much she was sorry for everything, and pleaded for me to understand.  
When I entered Middle School, I understood enough to know how I should act as a boy. I was loud, played pranks on other boys, flirted with the girls, entered the school’s baseball team, did everything I was supposed to do. I made more friends and for a moment I was almost happy, internally thinking that, if I acted like that, dad would come back.  
Dad didn’t come back. Mom worked nonstop. I was always lonely.  
In High School things barely changed. I got a girlfriend, my grades started to fall, my pranks got worse, the teachers went crazy with me, but none of it was enough to make my mother pay more attention to me. My father disappeared from the world, never more giving a sign he was, at least, alive.  
Even so, I had managed to suppress all my childhood desires. I acted as the perfect boy from my 10 to my 14 years old.  
That, until a friend decided to pay back for all the pranks I had played on him. He made me dress girl’s clothes for the first time in so many years, calling me a pussy if I didn’t do it. At first he laughed and I could only blush, but when he looked at me again, he had a glint on his eyes that made me know I was screwed.  
Somehow, he convinced me to go outside dressed like that. The worst part was when he met with friends of his I didn’t know, introducing me as his girlfriend. I wanted to die. But when no one seemed to notice I was a boy, I calmed down a bit, they complimented me, congratulating the boy for his cute girlfriend.   
When we got back to his house, I punched him as much as I could, the harder I could. He apologized and agreed on never again do something like that.  
Six months after that incident, I find myself in the same situation, only that I’m alone and much farther than any of my friends and colleagues live, or so had I thought.  
I sigh, tired from the day, physically and mentally. I gather all my hidden boxes with the intention of stopping it all. Now that Sasuke knows, I can’t continue with this stupidity. He’ll be my alibi to end it for good. I can’t do it any longer.  
On the next day, I break up with Sakura.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haters gonna hate!!  
> Sorry for making Minato the bad guy here, I feel kind of bad for it, I love the guy, but it’s for the sake of the story, so please bear with it.


	4. Stop stalking him!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters. © Masashi Kishimoto  
The story is based on the manga Udagawachou de Mattete yo by Hideyoshiko © **

**Chapter 4 – Stop stalking me!**

Naruto’s point of view

“I’m really sorry about it. I’m going through a difficult time of my life and I need to be alone. I don’t want to be a burden for you, so we can’t continue, sorry.”  
It hurts me to see the shocked expression on Sakura’s face, but I can’t keep misleading her like this. It’s better to end it now when I still can, when I know we’re not too deep in a relationship, one I shouldn’t have even started if I were honest.  
“But… why? Have I... have I been bad for you? Did I do something for you?” she fights the tears threatening to fall from her green eyes.  
“You were perfect, Sakura.” I feel my throat constrict. “You are perfect. I couldn’t have a better girlfriend.”  
“Then why? Why, Naruto?” the tears finally fall and I almost go back on my words, but I can’t and it’s for the better.  
“I’m really sorry. It’s not you, it’s-”  
“Cut the crap, Naruto!” the tears are freely falling on her face, affecting her voice. “Don’t you dare give me the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ crap! Don’t you dare!”  
I don’t know what to say to make things better. Nothing I say would make things better. “I’m really sorry, Sakura. It’s really hard for me but I honestly hope us to be friends.”  
“Friends?!” she sounds desperate. “How can we be friends, Naruto?! I love you! I love you so much.” she confesses between sobs.  
“I’m really, really sorry.”  
An awkward silence falls on us. Sakura cries softly and I know I can’t reach and wipe her tears away, no matter how much I want to, so I restrain myself and wait until her crying subsides gradually until it stops.  
“Please Naruto, please, don’t do it to me, to us.” Her voice is so small.  
“It’s for the best…” I whisper back, not daring to look at her eyes. “Understand it, please.”  
She sighs in defeat and slowly nods her head. Her green eyes meet my blue ones, her pink soft lips tremble and she takes a deep breath before she talks again, hesitate, afraid, and so low. “Have you ever loved me?”  
I contemplate the question for longer than her heart would like to stand, but at least I’m able to answer her honestly. “Yes, I have… I still do.” But not the way you deserve, not the way I’d like to love you.  
She nods again in comprehension. “I hope you don’t regret this decision,” are her final words to me.  
“I hope so too.” I whisper to myself watching her leave. I know she won’t cry in public, because she’s strong. I know she won’t badmouth me out of anger, because that’s the kind of girl she is. And I can only hope she finds someone worth her, because I do really love her.   
Just not the right way of loving a girl.  
…  
At lunchtime, I can hear the whispers, the gossip and the wonders of how and why we had broken up. Who was bad, and who was good, because someone has to take the blame, no matter if both were wrong or right, one always takes the whole blame for the end of a relationship. And apparently, that’s me.   
If the stares and whispers didn’t hurt so much I’d laugh at the lack of creativity and absurdity of the rumors. One says I cheated on her with an international model, other that I already had a girlfriend at another town. And the best of it, we broke up because she found out I have a son in another city. Is cheating the only reason to break up with someone? Does it mean you can do anything to your lover provided that you don’t cheat on them? Is that it?  
I sigh and look at the sky, it’s so blue. It’s so peaceful in here, far from the looks, from the whispers, from everyone else, from everything else. I love the roof; it had been ages I didn’t come here, didn’t have to come here, but the place is the same: deserted, peaceful, and geez, insufferably hot. Fine, so I don’t really love this place, there must be reason no one comes here, but it’s still better than the rumors.  
“Naruto.”  
I startle to someone calling me. I was supposed to be alone. I turn to this person I can’t recognize by the voice and freeze.  
“Sasuke?”  
He smirks arrogantly. “Don’t need to be scared, I won’t bite you.”  
“What do you want?” Seriously?! Does this guy have to suddenly appear every time I want to be alone? Every time I’m trying to hide from the world? What does he want?  
He sits beside me, not too close and not too far, a contemplative look on his features. I wait for him to say something, but nothing, what annoys me and makes me nervous. Maybe he’s here to mock me, humiliate me, call me a… no, no, no. Calm down Naruto, calm down.   
“I want to say…” He mumbles too quickly, avoiding his eyes.  
“What?!” He wants to say what?! I frown in concentration.  
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before he turns to me with determination. “I want to say that I am sorry.” He repeats calmly, a bit forced, but I think he’s honest. Wait.  
“What?!” Did he just?  
He grunts “You heard me already.”  
I can only blink and watch in amazement the annoyed look on his face, tinted by the pink cheeks of embarrassment. He looks… cute.   
“Say something moron!” he demands angrily.  
“What do you want me to say, bastard?”   
“Isn’t it obvious? You say you forgive me and then we’re good.” He says exasperated.  
Is this guy serious? How can someone demand forgiveness? And what is he sorry for anyway? “Why?” I ask dumbly.  
“Because that’s the polite and right thing to do.” He lectures me, making me feel like a 4 years old child.  
“No, not this!” I roll my eyes. “Why are you sorry? Listen, bastard, if this is about Sakura…”  
“Yeah, your girlfriend, about that, look, I was… I was wrong, alright. I shouldn’t have judged you, sexuality has nothing to do with your behavior or clothes, so I’m sorry that because I saw you in girl’s clothes I assumed you were, you know, gay. And I knew you have a girlfriend so… eh, what I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry for forcing myself on you. You are straight, I got it now. You have a girlfriend and a very interesting habit of wearing girl’s clothes, nothing wrong with it.” He looks pained, but I don’t know why.  
I look dumbfounded at him. I had no idea this guy could talk this much in one breath, his face is pinkish and he fidgets nervously with his dark bangs. I always thought Sasuke was one to never care about a thing in the world, so to see him like this makes my chest warm, it’s ridiculously cute. Yet, what also makes me dumbfounded, warm and a bit relief is that he isn’t disgusted with me, no, he… he said there was nothing wrong with it. I… never heard it before.  
I shake my head, no, I’m being foolish, but wait, “So you haven’t heard the rumors?” I ask incredulous. How can it be? It’s been the only thing being said the whole morning around school.  
“What rumors?” he arches an eyebrow in question, but then his eyes widen. “Because if it’s something about yesterday, I swear I didn’t tell anyone!”  
“Not about that…” My face heats up, oh great, now I feel embarrassed. “Just, geez, you’re hopeless. About me and Sakura.” I mumble hugging my legs closer to my chest.  
“I don’t care about rumors. If I want to know something about someone, I ask them, if they don’t want to talk, it’s not my business.” He explains with a straight face.  
“Oh…” I swallow, deciding to go straight to the point. “Sakura and I broke up this morning.” I say just loud enough he can hear. I don’t know why I tell him, but it feels the right thing to do.  
He nods slowly. “Hn, I see.” He bites down a smile. Why is he happy? This guy is… weird. “Then it’s decided.” He informs me more brightened than he had been this whole time. “We’re going out later.”  
I frown. What?! “Listen, bastard, I don’t know if you’re delusional or what, but just because you saw me like that and we’re talking now doesn’t mean we’re friends or anything!”  
He glares at me, and I have to confess it’s a bit scary. “I didn’t ask you to be friends, moron. I’m telling you we’re going out later, you want it or not.”  
“WHAT?!” I stand up and so does he.  
“You heard me, idiot. We’re going out, so meet me at the north station at three o’clock.” He doesn’t ask me, he intimates me, and then leaves, LEAVES! “And don’t be late!” he glares a last time at me, making me chill.  
God, what’s wrong with this guy? First he threatens me, then he’s sorry and now he intimates me?! As if I’m going out with that weirdo.  
…  
Sasuke doesn’t talk to me for the rest of the day. Actually, today is very depressing as it seems my friends are unease to talk to me, I can understand it, but it doesn’t change how much it sucks. My day continues as every other day, only that I have to take the northwest route to get home so I don’t meet with that Uchiha bastard.  
I feel a shiver in my spine and a bad sensation all the way home, but I don’t really care, it must be my imagination. Opening the door to my empty dark house, I sigh and walk straight to my bedroom, not really hungry.  
I don’t expect a guest to be lying on my bed, much less this guest to be the raven boy I’m avoiding at all costs. “WHAT THE HELL?!”  
He sits up and glares with venom at me, but also with pain. “I knew you would try to escape from me, moron.” Oh guilt trip, nah, not really.  
“What are you doing in my bedroom? And how did you get in here? How do you- How do you even know where I live?”  
“I followed you.” He says simply. “And you let your window open, so it wasn’t hard with the tree beside it.”  
“Sasuke…” I growl lowly, clenching my fists. “…you stalked me and broke into my house. That’s a fucking crime so if you don’t want me to denounce you, LEAVE THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!”  
“I’m not leaving.” He protests.  
“I’m not kidding, Sasuke. Go.” I say seriously. I just want to be alone.  
“Naruto, you ran away from me three times already. I won’t let you run a forth… please.” He’s dead serious, what pisses me off further.  
“I’m serious, bastard. Leave my house or I’m calling the police.”  
He cautiously analyzes his options, not that he has many, it’s leave or leave.   
“No.” he decides calmly, making my eyes narrow. “I really want to go out with you. That’s all I ask of you. Just once… please.”   
“Just once?” I hear myself saying  
“Just once and I won’t bother you again.”  
“Ever again?” What am I doing? What I am saying?  
“Ever again, but…” I arch an eyebrow, so he has a condition. “…you have to be her.”  
My heartbeat quickens, my hands start to sweat and my mouth is suddenly dry. This guy can’t be serious. “I-I don-don’t do it anymore.” My voice cracks but I still manage to say it loud enough to be heard. I don’t want to talk about it, much less with this person.  
“Liar.” He frowns and steps closer to me, leaving the bed. “You can’t stop doing that.”  
I’m nervous, feeling like a little lamb caught by a wolf. “Of course I can!” I swallow the lump in my throat. “I can do whatever I want to, you have nothing to do with it.”  
“Don’t lie to me, Naruto.” He comes closer, and I can see how he’s taller and bigger than me. “I have everything to do with it. I want to see her at least once more.” His voice is intense; I don’t know how to react, I’m in panic.  
After a tense moment, I sigh in defeat, emotionally exhausted. It’s been a bad day and I just want it to end already. “Fine.” I say quietly. I just want to end it. He said just once, right? “Just… just once.”  
He nods, looking brightened, what’s scary. Oh God, what have I gotten myself into? I have a weirdo, psycho stalker in my bedroom.   
Just whatever, I only want it to end. I’m too tired to care.  
Sasuke looks expectantly at me “What?” I ask him.  
“Won’t you change?” he motions for my clothes.  
“Oh.” Smart, Naruto, really smart. Get done with it.  
I sigh again and open my wardrobe with Sasuke following my every move. He makes me uncomfortable, nervous; he makes me want to snap, to scream. He makes me want to hide, to run. And apparently, he also makes me do anything he wants.   
I get the boxes where I hide all my secret things, from make-up to my dresses and wig. I have too many of them. I’m feeling a bit dizzy like I don’t have control over my actions. What in the world am I doing showing my deepest secret to a stranger?   
“They are beautiful.” Sasuke whispers by my side when I display most of the clothes on the floor. “Can I choose one?” he asks out of blue.  
“Eh, alright.”  
He narrows his eyes in concentration, thinking really hard on what outfit he must choose. In the end, he picks the most horrendous combination of the entire universe. There’s no way I’m wearing it, doesn’t he have any sense of fashion?  
“I’m not wearing it.” I protest putting my hands on my hips.  
“You said you would.” He pouts.  
“But not this… this monstrous combination.” I roll my eyes.  
“What’s wrong with it?” he crosses his arms over his chest, lifting an eyebrow. “They’re beautiful.”  
“Yeah, I know they are; I bought them, but not together.”  
We argue over it for a while, until I tell him to sit on my bed or we’re not going anywhere and that’s final. He agrees with a childish scowl. Oh God, and here I thought this guy was mature.  
I’m overly conscious of his presence in my bedroom, of his eyes on me, when I’m getting dressed with the clothes I chose and Jesus it’s so embarrassing that I feel my face in flames. I should have gone to the bathroom, but then nooo, we’re both guys after all. Does he have to stare so intensely at me?  
Anyway, I’ll keep pretending I don’t notice what he’s doing. I go to the bathroom to apply the make-up, and guess what? He follows me!  
Oh great, now I can see how red my face is on the mirror.  
Alright, the sooner I do it, the sooner it’s over. I breathe in and try to ignore Sasuke on the door, applying the right make-up on my face. I feel the guilty pleasure I always get from painting my face. I love how my eyes stand out with the eyeliner, how I can almost hide the scars on my cheekbones, how my plump lips look perfectly drawn with lipstick.  
My reflection smiles back at me. I love how I look beautiful, how I can pretend I’m not a monster for an instant. I touch the mirror and sigh, getting the wig and adjusting in my head so even if I move or pull at it with a bit force, it won’t move an inch. I hold half of the long blond hair on a high ponytail, finishing with small pins on the sides.  
There, I’m done.  
I startle for a second when my eyes catch a man’s profile on the mirror, bringing back bad memories, but soon my brain reminds me he is gone and instead, who’s looking at the other me on the mirror is a boy my age, Sasuke. I force myself to breathe deeply to calm my racing heart and turn around so I can face him.  
Sasuke doesn’t move; his mouth is agape; his eyes are widened and shining. I clear my throat lightly. “So…?” I feel stupid, and I know I’m blushing again.  
He blinks and closes his mouth, a tint of pink on his cheeks showing his embarrassment. He swallows rather loudly. “You look beautiful.” He whispers with a smirk.  
I want to die.  
He clears his throat and looks away. “Shall we?”  
I nod, unable to form words, but quickly change my mind when I properly look at him and observe he’s still in his uniform. That won’t do.  
I glare at our ugly piece of garment we must wear every day, wishing them to disappear. And before I can actually think about it, with that same dizzy sensation, I pick some clothes of mine, some I know are too big on me, but would fit Sasuke perfectly.  
“Wear it.” I tell him and push him inside the bathroom before he can protest, closing the door on his face.  
I hear him grunting and sighing, and after a while, he opens the door with the uniform in his hands and wearing the outfit I chose. I must say he looks good on it.  
“Happy now?” he smirks at me.  
I nod and smile a bit, leaving him to follow me to the front door with a pair of shoes in hands. I put on my shoes and we leave the house to the station with Sasuke leading as I don’t know where he wants to go. I only hope he’s considerate enough to take me to somewhere far.  
…  
He motions for me to hold on his arm, but I refuse. After a small argument, I agree under protest and scowling, what makes him chuckle and breathe a ‘thank you’ on my ear. Oh, the weather is chilly so I’m shivering, sure.  
I feel at ease walking through town in girl’s clothes, but now, with Sasuke, I don’t feel anxious or nervous at being found out. Maybe because I was already found out. Oh well, I can’t believe on what I’m thinking, but perhaps our fake and forced date won’t be that bad.  
Sasuke has a serene expression, sometimes it changes to a smug one when he looks at me, but I prefer to ignore it. He takes me to a part of town I’ve never been before, it’s far and fancy, stylish. Without any of us uttering a word, we enter on a small café shop.  
I like it.


End file.
